


Gem Tidings

by StardustDreamsandAnarchy



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Found Family, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28300212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustDreamsandAnarchy/pseuds/StardustDreamsandAnarchy
Summary: Garnet and Pearl are seasoned pirates looking to expand their small crew of two. Steven and Amethyst seem to be good new recruits, but could they possibly have embarked on too big an adventure?
Relationships: Garnet/Pearl (Steven Universe)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LeonardVindel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeonardVindel/gifts).



> This was a gift from TigerLillyRuiz for LeondardVindel. Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy!

“So, what could you bring to our crew?”

“Uhhhh, I don’t know… I guess I could be the cook.” The woman before them was picking her nose with her pinky as she spoke and leaning precariously on the back legs of the chair she sat in. Pearl wasn’t sure about allowing her anywhere near food and glanced over at Garnet to back her up, but Garnet’s face was as unreadable as ever. 

“Anything else?” She asked, hoping she had something, anything, to say that would redeem her. 

“Look, I’m really more into the treasure element of this whole thing. I don’t know what to tell ya.”

“Okay… Amethyst was it?” The woman nodded. “Amethyst, we’ll get back to you with our decision.” The tiny woman stood up and flicked her long hair behind her back, but left a swath of hair hanging before one of her eyes. Pearl balled her fists together and held them tight to keep herself from reaching out to fix it and watched her walk away to join the other people they’d been interviewing to join their ship. 

“Garnet, I’m really not sure about this. None of these people seem like the seasoned pirates we asked for. Look at that! That boy can’t be older than 12 years old.” She gestured towards the sweet but ignorant boy who’d come in clutching a flyer to his chest. He’d walked up to them with eyes wide and whispered “ _Is this where the pirate meeting is?_ ”. When Garnet nodded, he’d cheered so loud, a few gulls had soared off. 

For years, they’d been sailing the seas as a crew of four- just Pearl, Garnet, Sapphire, and Ruby. It was perfect. They were a well oiled machine, working quickly and efficiently to raid the ships and houses of the wealthy. They could be in and out of a location before anyone was even aware of their presence. They were a scourge on the nobles and no one even knew their names. But then, Sapphire and Ruby decided to retire so they could enjoy their wealth and each other, leaving Garnet and Pearl alone together.

For months now, it had been just the two of them, partners in crime and life; Pearl would’ve been content to spend forever like this, but Garnet pointed out that their operation needed at least 3 people to work properly, which Pearl couldn’t deny. They hadn’t completed any big missions in the months without Ruby and Sapphire, and no matter how much she liked the quiet nights on the sea with her love, she did miss the thrill of adventure. She’d been hopeful that they’d be able to find a new crew member on this island, but of the ten people they’d interviewed, she wasn’t confident in any of them. 

“I like the boy and Amethyst.” 

“W-what?!” Pearl turned to Garnet, her mouth agape. She only closed it when she felt the warm, heavy hand of her co-Captain on her thigh. 

“They’re inexperienced but, I think they could be what we need. Plus, why shouldn’t we foster the new generation?” There was a sparkle in her eyes that told Pearl that Garnet’s wilder side may be at play here, but wild or not, Garnet was reliable, solid, and had a great intuition. If Garnet liked those two, Pearl would invite them on the ship.

She swallowed back her trepidation as she stood up and clapped her hands together. 

“Alright everyone. Thank you so much for coming to meet us. You, and you.” She pointed at Amethyst and the young boy. “You’re being invited to stay. Everyone else is free to leave, but we again thank you for your time this evening.”

Amethyst looked around in shock, like she couldn’t believe she’d been chosen, and the boy bounced excitedly in his seat as the other people grumbled and began to file out of the barn they’d requisitioned into a meeting room. After the final straggler had left, Garnet rose and walked over to close the barn door behind them, then turned to the two who’d stayed behind. Pearl moved to join her and the four of them squared off for a minute, before Garnet finally broke the silence.

“I’m Garnet and this is Pearl. Welcome to the Crystal Gems.”

“I’m Steven!” His excited energy crackled through the room, causing even Garnet to smile with him. 

“I’m Amethyst” She gave a small half-salute. 

“Steven, Amethyst, am I right in believing that neither of you have much experience on the seas?” Garnet asked.

Amethyst blushed and scowled, but nodded along with Steven.

“Well, then. You’ll have a lot to learn.” Pearl clapped her hands again and glanced at Garnet. “Shall we head out?”

It was a short walk from the barn to where they’d stashed their boat. It was big enough for the four of them plus whatever bounty they might find, but not big enough to garner suspicion from any approaching ships. Plus, by being so small and close to the water, they could slip up to a ship in the dark and board it without anyone being the wiser. 

“This ship is now your home. Welcome aboard!” Pearl held her arms wide, waiting for some sort of response, and was satisfied with the appreciative whistle from Amethyst, but Steven began running around the deck, exclaiming, “Wow! Look at this! It’s so big!”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. “It isn’t really, but thank you. Now, since you both have no experience, you’ll be our apprentices. We’ll show you the ropes and teach you everything you need to know, but first a quick tour of the ship!” 

There wasn’t much to tour. The area below decks was split between two sections, Storage and Living/Sleeping spaces, all shared. Above the deck was just the rudder, the sails, and the open sky. 

After Pearl had shown them around, they returned to the deck to see Garnet standing at the rudder.

“Brace yourselves! We’re setting sail.” She jumped off the ship and began to push them into the wide open ocean that was awaiting them.

***

“Alright. Come at me.” Garnet stood with her arms crossed in front of her. The diminutive Steven and Amethyst stood before her and shared a look. Pearl expected them to hesitate, but Amethyst immediately hurled herself towards the taller woman. She was quick on her feet and actually quite a smart fighter. She kept herself low to the ground and leveraged her opponents’ low center of gravity to flip them around as she somersaulted out of the way. Steven on the other hand… He seemed wholly unprepared for the exercise. This was the first time Pearl had seen him quiet in the few days since he’d joined their crew.

Garnet and Amethyst were going at it quite seriously, paying the young boy no mind, so Pearl stood up from the makeshift table she had been making plans at and walked over to him.

“What’s wrong, Steven? Not in a fighting mood?”

He looked up at her with tears pricking at the corner of his eyes and Pearl couldn’t help herself from flinching away from his emotions. Had she said something to offend him?

“I don’t wanna hurt people!” He began to bawl and threw himself onto Pearl, clutching at her waists, the highest part of her he could reach. She was so taken aback that she didn’t even push him away, she began to pat his head as she cast about for something to say. 

“Oh, uhm. That’s alright, I guess…. But, there might be a time when someone will try to hurt you. In order to be a member of this team, you have to be able to at the very least defend yourself, that way if one of us gets hurt, you can protect us and the ship. Is that okay with you?”

“Okay!” As simply as that, Steven was back to his cheerful self and turned to join Amethyst in her sparring, but the other two had stopped, startled by his previous tears. 

“What was that about?” Amethyst was glancing back and forth between Steven and Pearl.

“Oh, sorry. I just-” He sniffled again, wiping the last remnants of the tears from his cheeks. “I’ve never fought before and my dad always taught me that fighting is bad.”

Amethyst snorted at this. “Why do you even wanna be a pirate if you’re so against violence?”

“It seems so cool!” He didn’t seem to sense the derision in her voice, or if he did, he chose to ignore it. “Sailing across the seas, going on adventures? Plus, I might get to see my dad again!”

“Whaddya mean?” 

“My dad- he’s a travelling bard. He’s always travelled with different groups of adventurers, singing of their victories. Right now, he’s on one of these adventures, but I want to meet him again someday and be able to tell him about my own adventures. Maybe he’ll make a song about me.” He grinned widely at the thought.

“I’m sure he will, Steven.” It was Garnet’s turn to pat him on the head now. “And it’s noble to not want to fight, violence should always be the last resort, but like Pearl said it’s important to be able to defend yourself and what you hold dear." She looked at Pearl as she said that, a small smile paying at her lips. Pearl could feel herself blushing as Garnet turned back to Steven and said, "I’ll teach you how to fight in a way where you don’t have to throw any punches, come on.”

Garnet took Steven aside and began to teach him how to duck and weave around obstacles as well as how to dodge blows. Amethyst stood and watched for a while, then turned to the still blushing Pearl. 

“What's your deal? Are you anti-fighting too?” she rolled her eyes and flipped her hair, allowing it to fall in her face once more. Pearl just shook her head at the disheveled woman.

"Fighting is below me, besides I'm more suited for espionage."

"Espio-what?"

"Spying, dear. It's much less brutish." 

"Ugh, I thought this was a pirate ship, not some sort of spy… ship" she retorted, somewhat lamely.

"If you give it time, I'm sure you'll find that there's an element of both involved."

"Whatever. Hey, Ste-man! Dodge this!" She ran off to join Garnet and Steven on the beach, throwing herself into the fight again.

Pearl returned to her seat, perturbed at Amethyst's lack of respect. She was a Captain, for goddesses-sake - HER Captain! Even though they'd only known each other for a few days, Pearl would've hoped that Amethyst would at the very least pretend to respect her, if not pretend to like her. Feigned respect was what she was owed, in her mind. She raged quietly in her seat as she went over the plans for the new recruits’ first practice raid.

***

It was a quiet night in late winter. Merchants were sending their wares to far flung ports and the trips were long and boring. Sailors were usually most alert at the beginning and end legs of their trips, but here, in the middle of the ocean was where they were most at ease. It was the perfect time to strike.

“There, in the distance. Do you see it?”

“Uh-huh!”

Pearl flinched. Steven was maybe too loud for a stealth mission, but the boy had to learn somehow. She’d purposefully chosen a route that unimportant ships favored. A medium-sized caravel like the one ahead of them should have food goods like molasses or maybe textiles for sale, but nothing of much value, nor any important people who could raise alarms about pirates in the area if they were caught. Not that she was planning on getting caught. If things went as she had planned, they’d be in and out of the ships stores before anyone was the wiser and off into the night to sell the goods on the black market somewhere.

“That ship will be your first test to see if you’ve retained what we’ve taught you. If you can get on and off that ship with at least one item without getting caught by someone on it, you’ll be able to move on to the next level, isn’t that exciting?”

“I thought this was a raid? Aren’t we supposed to go in guns-blazing?” Amethyst was sitting on the railing, kicking her legs in the air with an arm half raised in question. At the end of that arm was a pistol, loosely gripped in her hands. It swung lightly with the rocking of the ship and Pearl could see from her spot near the helm that the safety was **NOT** on.

“First off, you should not have a gun! The Crystal Gems don't use firearms. Hand it over.” She held her hand out and Amethyst reluctantly hopped down from her perch to give the weapon over.

“This _is_ a raid, but we don’t prefer to do the classical type you may be imagining. Raids of those sorts more often than not end up with the raiders in stocks and bonds. With a crew as small as ours, it’s best to do things like this. We sneak on and off the ship, taking what we please.”

Steven raised his hand now and his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. “Isn’t stealing wrong?”

Garnet's raised eyebrows could be seen even from behind the dark lenses of her glasses and Amethyst did a double take.

“We really gotta have a chat about what you expected this pirating gig to entail, kid.” she joked, but Pearl couldn’t help but agree with Amethyst on this part. Somehow, Steven had made it twelve years on this earth without a single clue what pirates actually did, but he still set out to become one.

“ _Ahem_... Hmmm. How do I say this?” She pressed her hands together as she tried to figure out how to broach the subject. She didn’t want to lead him astray or break his heart, but they _were_ pirates, afterall. “Have you ever heard of Robin Hood? The man who stole from the rich and gave to the needy? We’re kind of like that, except we’re the needy. The people we’re stealing from have so much money they don’t even know what to do with it, so we’re kind of doing them a service, if you think about it.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, hoping he would believe her and not press the subject too much. Besides, it wasn’t _that_ much of a lie.

Thankfully, he did seem to believe her. He now had a sort of thoughtful look on his face and was nodding like he was integrating this new knowledge into his frame of reference.

“Just don’t steal from poor people. That would be hurting them, right?” Garnet added, which seemed to help Steven even more.

“Plus, she said we only gotta take one thing. They probably won’t even notice.”

“Right, one thing.” Pearl held up a finger to signify the singular item they needed to get. “One item, in and out. No need to go for something extra bulky or expensive, but it must be something of value. Not just a pot from the kitchen, or a candlestick, or anything of that nature. Work quickly and quietly. Ready?”

Amethyst and Steven nodded and with a little help from Garnet, they were over the edge of the other ship and out of sight from Pearl’s spot on the deck.

Pearl stood with her face to the breeze and let out a deep breath. Suddenly, she felt warm arms wrapping around her, when she looked up, it was Garnet.

“You’re stressed.” She said it as a statement, able to see the anxiety on Pearl’s face.

Pearl took one of Garnet’s hands in hers and pressed it to her face, letting the warmth from it radiate into her cheeks. “This is just a lot. With Sapphire and Ruby, things felt so effortless. Now we’re suddenly teachers, and poor Steven. He’s making me feel like a worried mother duck. I would gladly take him under my wing and keep him from all the world’s detritus, but as for our other ward….”

Garnet laughed a little. “She is trying, but I think she’s good for us. They both are.”

“I trust you, always, but, I think your judgement may be a little off on this one.”

“Just wait and see.”

They sat together on the railing, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger, a light going on above them, the sound of oars hitting the water, but nothing was forthcoming. For a minute it was just the two of them under the stars, feeling the ocean slowly rocking them, just like old times. Pearl sat with her head on Garnet’s shoulders and just felt the moment, hoping it would last forever. 

But of course, all moments come to an end, and theirs did rather abruptly when Amethyst came flying down from the taller ship and landed heavily on the wood below. The ship dipped down, allowing water to flood in and Garnet and Pearl had to quickly jump up to remain on board. 

“ _Amethyst!_ ” Trying to chew Amethyst out without awakening anyone on the other ship was a balancing act, but Pearl was determined to make the careless woman feel her wrath, somehow. “ _Go grab the bucket and mop from below decks! You’re swabbing this deck. NOW._ ”

“But you didn’t even see what I got!” Amethyst made no real effort to lower her voice and the Captains' jumped to shush her. 

“The deck needs to be dry so that when Steven comes back, he doesn’t hurt himself. We’ll see what the two of you got when we get away.” 

Amethyst grumbled, but went to grab the mop and bucket from below decks, dragging her feet the entire way. She’d gotten most of the deck dry when Steven returned. 

From their vantage point, below the other ship, all they could see at first was Steven’s conquest- a large wooden barrel. He shifted it in his arms, carrying it as one would a baby, then leapt down to the waiting ship below, landing cat-like on the now dry deck. 

“ _Welcome back, Steven. We’d almost begun to worry. Whoa!_ ” Garnet had moved to take the barrel from him and had to hesitate. The thing was heavier than she’d expected, at least twice Steven’s size. 

“ _You’re a strong one, huh?_ ”

“Yup!” Steven smiled widely as he slapped his arms, showing off muscles that were apparently hidden in them.

“ _Alright, let’s get outta here!_ ” Amethyst cheered in a stage whisper, as Pearl began to steer them away to a small, uncharted island that they used as a hideout whenever they were in this ocean. 

***

“We call it O’Quintal. This is sort of our base of operations, since it can get sort of cramped on the boat for long periods of time. No one else has ever been to this island, it’s not on any maps, so anything you have to store, can be kept here.”

O’Quintal was a small, heavily forested island. There were no major ports anywhere nearby, so people didn’t sail near it. Even if they were to, they’d only see what appeared to be a barren isle, but The Crystal Gems had built a sturdy hut here, with beds and warmth abounding- a place to call their own. 

By the time they’d all gotten settled in, Amethyst and Steven were nearly jumping out of their skin with excitement.

“Do mine first! Do mine first!” Steven had had to rummage through their storage room to try to find something to leverage the top of the barrel open with and finally had to settle on an old broadsword someone had taken from an attacker long ago. 

As soon as the barrel was cracked open, the smell of sulfur filled the room and some grayish dust was kicked up from their efforts.

“Wow! Nice find, Steven. This looks like some premium- grade gunpowder! Since none of us use guns, this can be sold at market.”

“What? How’d you know it was gunpowder?!” Amethyst ran over to look into the barrel and her eyes went wide. 

“I didn’t!” Steven didn’t seem to note the hint of panic (or jealousy) in her voice. He was caught up in the euphoria of his luck. “I was freaking out on that ship, trying to find something to take and found this big barrel, so I grabbed it! What about you Amethyst, what did you get?”

Pearl realized that since she’d jumped onto the ship and caused a big mess, they’d never seen what Amethyst had nicked. Now, she backed away as the focus turned to her, looking chagrined. 

“I- I don’t know. I mean, I thought it was good, but I'm not sure. It’s definitely not gunpowder.”

“That’s alright, Amethyst. We just wanted to see what you could do, the point wasn’t to find anything of value- ” Mid sentence, Amethyst had pulled a sheet of parchment out of her pocket, unfurling it to show an intricately detailed map of somewhere completely unknown to Pearl. She glanced over to Garnet and saw her reaching out to take the map. 

“May I?” Garnet stopped just short of grabbing it, waiting for Amethyst to nod her consent. “This is spectacular. Very well done, Amethyst.”

“I- I did good?” Pearl wasn’t sure, but she could’ve sworn that she saw tears beginning to prick at the corners of the woman’s eyes. 

Garnet nodded seriously. “You did _great_. If you don’t mind, could I take a closer look at this?”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” Amethyst gave her usual noncommittal shrug, but there was a definite smile on her face. Steven stood beside her and gave her a playful shove, which she turned into a noogie.

Before the two could devolve into their usual roughhousing, Pearl called Amethyst over. 

“How on Earth did you get this?!”

“Oh, I just snuck into the Captain’s Quarters.” She held Steven in the crook of her arm, speaking to Pearl as if she didn’t have an entire child trying to break free from her grip.

“You- You snuck into the Captain’s Quarters?” Pearl had expected them to sneak below deck or maybe into the shared quarters for the higher officers or guests, but risking the Captain’s Quarters on a first mission and getting away with it was far above what she’d expected of them for the mission, or from Amethyst at all, if she was being honest with herself. 

“Yeah. You said that being sneaky was important for this gig, so I decided to put it into practice.”

"I didn't realize what I was saying had an impact on you."

"I mean, you are a Captain. I figured maybe you had some of this pirating stuff figured out." She let Steven go and shooed him away. He wandered out to explore the island a bit, leaving Pearl and Amethyst alone.

They sat in awkward silence for a bit before Amethyst took a deep breath, apparently building up the nerve to say something. 

"Can I be honest with you?"

"I mean, I would hope you've been nothing but honest with us, but of course."

"You know what I mean!" Her laugh was rough and wild, like her and Pearl couldn't help but smile at it. It was the first time Amethyst had laughed with her. 

"The thing is… I've never sailed before. I grew up in an orphanage on an island so small it doesn’t even have a name- that same one you were looking for crewmates on. I was found near the ports as a baby and because of that, I convinced myself that my parents must have been pirates. Daring adventurers who had to abandon me for some reason. Maybe they were on the run, maybe they put me down to fight off some attacker, but the orphanage people found me before they could come back. Anything. All I knew was that I was meant to be on the seas, but no one would have me, except you. I’m a bit hard headed, I know that, but I wanna be a great pirate. You’ve been doing this for like a century, so if you tell me something- I might grumble about it at first, but in the end I’m gonna think about it and try to put it into practice.”

“Oh, Amethyst.” Pearl hadn’t ever been someone that others looked up to and she’d never expected this much depth from Amethyst. Before the other woman could play off the emotion or change the subject, Pearl reached out in a hug. At first, Amethyst tensed up, but eventually she melted into it. 

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll make an amazing pirate, Amethyst. You’re tough, a smart fighter, and tonight proved that you’re capable of more than maybe even you know.” Pearl finally released Amethyst from the hug and gave her arm a pat. “Come on, let’s put those cooking skills to use.” 

***

Garnet didn’t join them at dinner. The warm glow from the candles she had lit in their room could be seen through the window from the bonfire Steven and Amethyst had lit outside on the beach. Pearl felt her eyes wandering to it as she ate with the rambunctious pair and she excused herself early to check on her partner. 

When she walked into their room, she found Garnet in a familiar position- hunched over a desk, poring over a map. Garnet was usually the planner in their crew, finding most missions and orchestrating them in order to ensure the best yield and the safety of everyone involved. In general, Pearl was a very anxious person, but whenever she was around Garnet, she was different, better. Being with Garnet was like being awash in an ocean of calmness and certainty. But Garnet could get tunnel vision sometimes, get so caught up in the details and possibilities that she got lost, and in moments like those, it was Pearl’s turn to steer. 

She went around the room, blowing out some of the many candles and making the lighting in the room more gentle.

“Garnet, put the map away for now.” She walked up behind her, and rested her chin on Garnet’s shoulder, hoping that the pressure would snap Garnet out of it. It did, slightly. Garnet blinked and looked around, noticing the dimness in the room and the weight of Pearl’s body on hers. 

“Bed time?”

Pearl nodded and backed up, allowing Garnet some space. “Would it help you to debrief on Amethyst’s map before we go to bed?”

“Immensely.” Garnet stood and stretched, before nodding at Pearl. Every night before bed they stretched together and talked. The topic could be anything from their day to their past or their future plans. Pearl began to move into a few stretches and movements and Garnet mirrored her as she began to speak. 

“The map was of an island on the other hemisphere- Soladin. I found it on some of our older maps. It was once a hub, the Capitol of an impressive kingdom that crumbled in ages past. The map claims to lead to the treasures of that lost kingdom. I think we should go for it.” 

Pearl didn’t say anything as they finished their nightly stretching routine, just let it all sink in. The normal vessel they’d targeted for a practice raid had ended up having an incredible treasure map on it. It was almost too good to believe. They crawled into bed and snuggled together. Pearl settled into Garnet’s ensuring arms and felt all her worries fade again… except one.

“Why did that ship have that map? Is it possible that it was more important than it looked?”

“I’d thought of that possibility, but even if it were, I don’t think the ship could reach Soladin without the map. The route looks very difficult to traverse and it’s so remote. I don’t think we’d have to worry about anyone else vying for this treasure. If by some miracle, the other ship still heads for Soladin without the map, I believe that we could have the treasure and be gone before anyone even knew, if we head out first thing in the morning.” Garnet nuzzled her face against Pearl’s cheek and whispered into her ear. “What do you say?”

Pearl shivered and couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the gesture. How could she say no?  
“In the morning, we set sail!.”

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems make it to Soladin but they find that they're not alone on the island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year LeonardVindel (and everyone)!

“Okay. A little rough on the landing, but overall you did a stellar job, Amethyst.”

The Crystal Gems were standing underneath the shade of one of the many overgrown trees that had taken root along the coast of what had once been Soladin. During the weeks-long trip from O’Quintal to Soladin, Garnet and Pearl had only steered the ship through the more treacherous parts of the journey, allowing Amethyst to take charge through the calmer parts of the ocean. By the time they’d reached their destination, she was nearly an expert, but there was no real way to teach someone how to land a boat. As everyone stretched out, Garnet took charge.

“We should be fairly close to what was once the Capitol. We’ll probably make a few trips, taking the more valuable things first and loading them onto the ship so that if we have to leave quickly for any reason, we won’t be leaving anything too important behind. This is a big mission and one we normally wouldn’t be doing with inexperienced party members, but Steven and Amethyst, you’ve both shown such amazing growth the last few weeks and we don’t expect this to be particularly dangerous. Just follow our leads and trust your gut if we get separated somehow. I’ve created smaller maps of the island for all of us to reference, just in case. If all else fails, come back to the ship and wait for us to return if you get turned around. Ready?”

“Aye Aye, Captain!” Steven and Amethyst saluted Garnet rather seriously and Pearl threw her a playful one, which made Garnet smile. She’d been tense and worried the whole journey, but now that they were getting into the thick of it, she calmed down again.

Before heading onto the island, Garnet made sure that everyone had some sort of weapon or form of defense on them. In the short time they’d had together, Amethyst had found that she enjoyed fighting with Jiejiebian, a nine-tailed whip that she could use to keep her distance from an enemy while still inflicting damage, though she still preferred getting close to fight in scrums; and though he didn’t fight unless he needed to, Steven had become quite proficient with deflecting attacks with a shield. Pearl had her usual halberd and she could feel Amethyst eyeing her.

“I thought you didn’t fight.”

Pearl smirked at Amethyst’s raised eyebrows. “I said that ‘fighting was below me’, but even I enjoy a good battle from time to time. It’s just a shame that you probably won’t be able to see me in action.”

“Someday you gotta show me what you can do, P!”

They found the marked location without issue and set to work to clear it out. Steven’s strength came in handy on the first trips since the crew had found several ornate chests in what was once the treasury of the kingdom, and they all worked together to carry them back to the ship. While Steven and Garnet were able to carry two each, Pearl and Amethyst had to work together to carry just one.

Steven and Garnet made two trips this way, carrying large chests slowly back to the ship, but the second time around, Amethyst and Pearl went through the room stuffing bejeweled chalices, large tomes, and whatever other larger items of value they could see among the veritable sea of treasures they’d found into bags they’d brought with them. After they’d stuffed the bags full to the point of bursting, Pearl and Amethyst began to head after Garnet and Steven, towards the ship. Even though the other two had left long before they had, Amethyst and Pearl were able to catch up to Steven and Garnet due to the weight that the former party carried. They all walked back to the ship together and deposited their goods before heading back for more.

As the day turned to evening, then to night, it had gotten progressively more overcast and by the time they started off on the third trip, it was drizzling steadily and unlike the two previous trips, they heard voices as they approached the treasury.

“Those goddamn rats! Whoever stole my map has been here already!” One of the voices was that of a gruff man, apparently the captain of the vessel they’d raided. The scattered sound of men murmuring in confusion told them that a large party was ahead of them.

Garnet held a finger up to her lips and waved the crew over to a thicket of bushes. They were huddled together there, trying to figure out their next move when another voice sounded from somewhere behind them.

“If you didn’t want people to steal the map, you should’ve done a better job hiding it. There was quite a lot of hard work put into getting that map to you in the first place.” The voice belonged to a woman who seemed to be walking through the underbrush towards the man. “Do you even know how many people I had to kill to get that thing?” The woman continued, but she was cut off by the angry man ahead of her as he scoffed.

“As if killing is anything to you. Besides, I hid it very well! The map was in my locked quarters and never left that room, plus I travelled on a small, inconspicuous ship. What more do you want from me? You should be grateful that I’d made copies. We would’ve made it here before those thieves if you hadn’t insisted on getting reinforcements!” The two voices kept bickering for a while as Garnet signalled to the others hidden with her to make their way back to the ship.

They slowly crept through the twisting woods, trying to make their way back to the coast, but they’d barely made it fifty feet before they heard:

“ **MA’AM, WE’VE FOUND A SUSPICIOUS SHIP ON THE WEST COAST! THE THIEVES ARE STILL ON THE ISLAND!** ” from ahead of them, in the direction of their ship.

“ _Damnit._ ” Pearl cursed underneath her breath. They were surrounded on either side by an unknown enemy and their ship had been found out. “ _We need a way out, quick._ ” She looked to Garnet, whose eyes were closed in concentration. Steven and Amethyst were looking panicked and she cursed again internally. They’d brought these kids into a bad situation and they were about to be tested beyond their abilities just to get off the island alive.

Pearl turned to her apprentices and smiled widely, hoping to ease their fears. “ _Hey, you two. Don’t worry, we’re going to figure this out, okay?_ ” Steven and Amethyst nodded back, but she could tell they were still scared, and could she blame them?

Garnet finally opened her eyes, her plan formalized.

“ _Alright. We need to move quickly and decisively. We’re going to head back to the ship, taking the most direct route, which happens to be the same direction as the people who found our ship. If we’re lucky, they might have just been a scouting party meaning that they’ll be undermanned and lightly weaponed, and thus, be the easiest to get through. If we’re not lucky, they’ll be a fully outfitted war-party like what seems to be at the treasury. Pearl and Amethyst, you’re both equipped for medium to long-distance fights. Steven and I are shorter distance fighters, so I think Amethyst and I should take the front and Pearl should take the back with Steven. Protect each other and stay close. We’re moving as one unit, do you understand?_ ”

Everyone nodded, so Garnet and Amethyst began to trek forward. During her speech, Garnet had taken her brass knuckles out of her pockets and fixed them to her fingers. Pearl felt her own grip tighten around the pole of her halberd in response, readying herself for a fight.

She tried to convince herself that this was just another stealth mission, but the sound of boots sloshing through the muddy ground of the forest, the call of men’s voices echoing through the trees told her that this was unlike any mission before. They’d never gone against an army before, never had two inexperienced children by their side. On previous missions, the beating of her heart was from excitement, now it was fear.

The sun was beginning to set on Soladin and the rain picked up as they trekked through the woods. Pearl hoped that the stormy conditions would make it easier for them to sneak back to the ship, but instead their path through was made even more precarious by the torches that the other party had set up to light the paths they’d taken across the island and due to the call sent out earlier, more men were scattering themselves through the woods in small groups, hoping to catch the Crystal Gems.

Still, Garnet and Amethyst were making quick work of whoever they were running into. Amethyst would pull them closer with her whip and Garnet would take them down. They moved so quickly that the soldiers didn’t have time to react before Garnet’s fists connected with their jaws. In the back, Pearl and Steven didn’t have much to do besides whacking the occasional attacker down.

It didn’t matter how many men they took out in the woods, it couldn’t have prepared them for the number of soldiers they could see waiting for them on the beach. At least 20 men surrounded the boat, arms at the ready.

“ _What do we do now?_ ” Amethyst looked up at Garnet, then turned to Pearl when no answer was forthcoming. 

Pearl looked up at Garnet too, then over at Steven and Amethyst. She could see that Garnet was paralyzed by the same images that were giving her pause. The sight of the two younger pirates fighting against these enemies and getting slain flashed in her eyes and she shook the thought away. She couldn’t let them get hurt.

“I think the two of us stand a chance against these soldiers, but Steven and Amethyst, I need you two to do something really important for us. We need you to be really brave and swim out to the ship. Use the maps Garnet made and follow it to the coast a few yards away from where we landed, then swim to the other side of the boat where no one can see you and climb up. If someone sees you, keep taking them out the way you have been, but don’t stop for anything. Just get to the ship and weigh anchor. Garnet and I will be making a distraction over here and we’ll come to you, okay?” 

If she told them the truth- That she didn’t think Garnet or her actually had a chance against the troops before them, neither of the kids would go. They’d insist on staying and fighting alongside the elder Crystal Gems. No, she had to give them hope enough to get them back to the ship. Hopefully then, sense or the tides would kick in and they’d be able to get away.

Amethyst looked skeptically up at Pearl, but there was nothing but trust in Steven’s eyes as the two of them made their way towards the coastline. Pearl watched them go for a while before turning to see tears falling down Garnet’s face along with raindrops now.

“I tried, but I can’t see it. I can’t think of a way for us to beat them. Pearl, I’m sorry.” Garnet pushed her hands into her face, trying to stop the tears that were raining down. Pearl took Garnet’s hands into her own before pulling her close to her side. The taller woman buried her head into Pearl’s shoulder and Pearl could feel her own throat closing with emotion.

“Shhhh, it’s alright. Steven and Amethyst will make it and that’s what matters, right? Fostering the next generation. We’ve given them a good foundation and a great ship, they’ll survive and we will too. We’ve just got to fight to give them a path out. Even if we can’t get on the boat, we can still get off this island and meet them on O’Quintal. Just think of that. Besides, when was the last time we fought at each other’s sides?”

Garnet smiled at Pearl’s positivity, fake though it was, and wiped her tears away. “You’re right. The kids should be nearing the coast now, let’s put on a show for them.”

Having been together for so long, Garnet and Pearl were intimately aware of each other’s bodies and the ways that they moved. Garnet was all about precision and Pearl’s movements lent themselves towards fluidity, but when they joined together and fought as one, they almost danced through their enemies and took them out with direct hits to their critical areas. They may have been outnumbered 10 to 1, but they were still a formidable enemy and though Pearl had seen her fight many times, she was still taken by the pure strength and power in Garnet’s movements.

She exploded out into the battlefield, barrelling at the musket wielding soldiers and taking down two of them before a third could even get a shot off. Pearl ran the man through with her spear as he took a shot at Garnet, then used her momentum (and the counterbalance of the man still stuck on her weapon) to vault over him, somersaulting in midair to knock the gun out of another soldier’s hands. To her side, Garnet pushed the man off the polearm and used it to whack a few more soldiers in the head before handing it to Pearl. The rain seemed to be interfering with their firearms, and Pearl revelled in the panicked looks on their faces as they tried to fire at her and Garnet only to be grabbed by one of them or stabbed by the other. Bodies went flying as Garnet tossed men like they were nothing more than paper dolls. Frustrated, some of the soldiers began to use their muskets as clubs but others just tossed them to the side, raising their knuckles in defiance of Garnet’s brass ones. The element of surprise was gone now and the men were organizing quickly now that nearly half their number lay on the beach bloodied. They circled up and surrounded the two pirates on the beach.

“Good. It’s always nice to have your prey come to you.” Garnet taunted, using her forearms to block some of the blows from the soldiers surrounding her. There was bravado in her voice, but Pearl could feel her shaking with adrenaline and terror, and Pearl knew that she wasn’t hiding her fear as well as Garnet was.

With the rain and darkness of night, she could barely see more than a few feet ahead of her. She couldn’t tell if Steven and Amethyst had made it to the boat yet. If they had, they weren’t setting sail, meaning that they were either stuck or caught on the island or waiting foolishly for Garnet and Pearl to rush to the ship. They had to keep fighting, keep allowing time for them to sail away.

She slashed earnestly at the soldiers around her, tearing them up as best she could. Even if she couldn’t take them down, she’d leave a mark for them to remember. Garnet gave as good as the soldiers were giving her. Her fists were flying out and the sound of flesh against flesh was only interrupted by the occasional crunch of bone, meaning that she was breaking the noses and cheeks of the fighters around her. 

Despite the odds, they were making a dent in the gaggle of soldiers around them.

“We can make it! We can get back to the ship!” Pearl yelled out incredulously as she realized that there were only 5 soldiers still fighting them.

“Let’s do this!” Garnet shouted back, decking a soldier with a vicious right hook as she did.

Four left. But behind two of the soldiers, at the tree line, outlined by the now rising sun was an army, vastly outnumbering the 20 that had been waiting for the Crystal Gems at the shore. This group numbered at least 70 and they were well armed and angered by the sight of their comrades lying on the sand.

“Attack!” A woman stood at the front of the line, wearing an intricately woven lace dress with her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. A man stood at her side in a severe looking military uniform, brandishing a longsword towards Garnet, Pearl, and the soldiers around them. The final four soldiers all wore twisted smiles as the battle turned in their favor. Pearl’s shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no way they could keep fighting at this rate, no way they could stop this assault. At her side, Garnet was still fighting though, crazed with panic and running off pure fumes now. She slammed one of the men down and held her knee on his chest as she took out a small dagger she'd stored on her person.

“Don’t move!” She held the dagger to the throat of the man below her, apparently a high ranking soldier given his insignia.

The woman laughed derisively, but the man and his soldiers hesitated which caused her to scoff.

“What! You’re willing to give up these two thieves for some common soldier.” She eyed Garnet up and down and continued. “Kill him, you still won’t get away. I’ve got so many men focused on you that before you could move, you’d be on the floor riddled with holes. Want to test my men’s accuracy? All it takes is one to aim true.”

Garnet gritted her teeth, but pulled her dagger away from the man's throat. He scrambled up and he and the men left standing at the coast formed into a line in front of the two pirates, guns drawn. Pearl looked to Garnet for guidance and saw that she was grimacing at more than just their circumstances. As she stood up, arms raised in defeat, Pearl could see red blossoming on her shirt- a sign of an injury from one of the men they’d taken down previously. Was it a graze? Or had the bullet fully hit?

“Oh! It looks like one has already struck. What luck! Well, you there- follow your companion’s lead and I won’t turn you both into swiss cheese, eh?” The entire time she spoke, the woman was grinning wildly and her every word came across as jovial, yet the threat was enough to send shivers down Pearl’s spine.

Pearl did as the woman said and stood up with her arms out, readying herself to be captured. She closed her eyes to give a little prayer to whoever was above that they’d keep the others safe, but her prayer was interrupted by a whooshing sound as she felt an intense heat fly past her head. Before she could open her eyes, she was tackled to the ground by Garnet as an explosion rocked them. Her eyes flew open with the impact and all she saw at first was the starry sky above, but she stood up and offered a hand to Garnet as she looked around, taking stock of the situation.

She quickly learned that the whooshing sound had apparently belonged to a barrel that had flown over their heads, hitting the soldiers that had been aiming at them before. The heat and explosion had come from the same barrel that rolled off the now downed soldiers, towards the rest of the army. The barrel had already been alight when it had been thrown from the ship of the Crystal Gems, but some of the soldiers had tried to shoot it to stop it from reaching them, not knowing that the barrel contained the gunpowder that Steven had pilfered from their own boat. The barrels contents exploded, sending the soldiers flying and some debris would have likely hit Pearl had it not been for Garnet’s quick thinking. Pearl turned to see the sails of the ship billowing in the wind and the anchor being pulled up quickly. It disappeared over the ledge only to be replaced by Steven’s face as he nearly threw himself off the ship gesturing at Garnet and Pearl to get up and rush to the rope ladder he’d dropped off the side of the ship.

“Run!” He called out to them and they gratefully complied, taking advantage of the distraction their proteges had created and scrambling up the rope as Amethyst steered them out of the inlet and into the wide open sea. Some soldiers bravely jumped over the scattered, smoldering bits of barrel, urged on by the woman in lace, but none got close enough to get a shot off in time to stop the escaping sea vessel.

As soon as they made it onto the ship, Pearl and Garnet collapsed on the deck, exhausted from their battle.

“Why… didn’t.. you... run?” Pearl gasped out inbetween ragged breaths. The two younger pirates could’ve gone earlier, escaped with their lives and left Garnet and her to face their fates on that island, but they’d waited and waited for them to fight and win against those impossible odds.

“What kinda question is that!” Steven shouted. “We couldn’t leave you! What kind of person leaves their friends behind?”

“Yeah, you’re lucky I came up with the idea to throw that barrel or else we would’ve had to jump ship and come fight with you two!” Amethyst yelled from her spot at the ship’s stern. She had the rudder in one hand and a rope controlling the sails in the other, using them to catch the wind and waves and take the crew as far from Soladin as possible.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. What was I thinking?” Pearl sat up bashfully. The thought of leaving the elder Crystal Gems to fend for themselves had evidently never crossed the minds of Steven and Amethyst.

“You were right about these two Garnet.” Pearl turned to Garnet, to share her disbelief in their good-heartedness, but instead found her lover unmoving at her side and she suddenly remembered that Garnet had been wounded during their fight. “Garnet!” She stumbled over to the still woman on the floor and moved her jacket over to see that the red that had only just begun to bloom before had spread to cover nearly all of Garnet’s shirt at this point.

“No, no, no, no” Pearl could hear herself repeating the words from underwater. The scene before her telescoped out and she felt herself floating, watching her actions as though they were someone else's. Gently, she lifted Garnet’s head to her lap and leaned forward to listen to her breathing and found that Garnet’s chest was rising slightly, barely enough to see in the low light.

“Is she okay?” Steven had rushed over when Pearl cried out, but stopped short when he’d seen the blood oozing from Garnet’s stomach. Pearl racked her mind, trying to think of what to do.

As a small group that avoided being caught and spent most of their time on leisurely pursuits, the Old Crystal Gems rarely even got sick. Dealing with a gun wound was beyond her. The most she or anyone on the boat could do was first aid. The world shifted back into focus as she realized that Garnet was relying on her. She shook her head roughly and took a few deep breaths as she tried to remain calm and present.

“Steven, go below decks and get every spare cloth you can- and all the fresh water!” She shouted after him when he ran off in the middle of her sentence.

“What should I do?” Pearl could hear notes of panic raising in Amethyst’s voice as she called from across the boat.

“You’re doing great, Amethyst. Just keep sailing us away from here.”

“Should I take us to O’Quintal?”

“ _No._ ” Garnet stirred slightly on Pearl’s lap and tried to raise herself from the deck, reaching out to stop Amethyst, but Pearl wrestled her back down.

“You need to stay still. Please, Garnet. You’re not in any shape to be moving.”

“ _We can’t go back to O’Quintal. What if they’ve followed us?_ ” Her voice was little more than a whisper and it looked as though each word was a struggle for her to get out.

“They haven’t followed us. It’s okay.” Pearl was stroking Garnet’s face, trying to calm her. Garnet relaxed into the hand and quieted, allowing Pearl to think. She was right, of course. The people who’d been following them didn’t seem the type to let something of this sort go. They’d try to find them and take back what they’d taken from Soladin- try to silence them.

“Let’s try to find an island we can land on in the dark. We need to get Garnet some medical attention, quickly. Wait… Soladin is in the western hemisphere, right? You can read a map can’t you Amethyst?”

Amethyst nodded and Pearl sent her below decks to grab the map to Soladin along with a map that she and Garnet kept tacked up on the wall down there.

Steven returned with the scarce medical supplies they had onboard and Amethyst quickly followed, bringing the requested maps to Pearl who eyed them over quickly.

“Yes! Look at this. This map cuts off just above the coast of Soladin and the coastlines have changed a little bit, but it seems like we’re close to this island.” She pointed to a smaller island on the lower left side of the map marked EHM. “Can you sail us here Amethyst?”

“Yeah, I can try.” She rushed back to the rudder and the ship began sailing towards Eta Hemja Mir, the island where Ruby and Sapphire had retired to.

After he’d dropped off the cloth and water, Steven had backed away, but Pearl waved him forward, to her side.

“I’m not the most skilled at this, so I’ll need your help. Plus, I think it’s important for all of us to know how to do the very basics at least.”

He nodded his understanding and very carefully, Pearl began to cut Garnet’s shirt open, exposing the red gash on her side. Both she and Steven flinched, but they dutifully got to work pouring the clean water over their patient’s wound, washing away the blood that kept pouring forth and revealing a hole in Garnet’s stomach.

“Hold her up for me.” They lifted Garnet’s limp body to her side and repeated the procedure, but washing the blood away only revealed the brown skin of Garnet’s back.

“No exit wound. That means that the bullet is still in her.”

Steven sucked his teeth sympathetically at the news. “Can we get it out?” 

"Not with our skill levels. The best we can do is dress the wound and get Garnet to the help she needs"

***


End file.
